yugo sks or taurus 44 mag

[JUSTinTYME]

Im trading a 1911. Idk much about skss as far as which are good and which are bad. This one was made in the zastava plant and imported by cherry's in nc. I can trade for that or a Taurus 44 mag stainless revolver with a 6 inch barrel. He is also going to throw in 2 boxes of ammo.

I posted here because I believe those familiar with the sks would more than likely be in the c&r section.

Help me make a decision. The 1911 is a taurus. I feel the 44 is closer to the same value and tbe sks might be worth a little less as far as price points are concerned. I've seen them pretty regularly for 250-400 around here.

[stu925]

I don't think I'd trade a 1911 for either one but of the 2 choices I'd definitely take the SKS over the Taurus. The Yugo SKSs are kind of the red headed step children of the SKS family. They are about the cheapest SKS out there right now and are definitely less desirable than just about any other SKS. I have a Yugo SKS and it's a ton of fun to shoot, it's accurate enough for anything I would need to use it for and the grenade launcher and bayonet tend to draw attention at the range. Down side of the Yugo is that the barrel is not chrome lined, this is not something I concern myself with since I take good care of my firearms and clean them regularly. I also don't put enough rounds downrange through my SKS to worry about wearing out the bore.

Stu

[tahunua001]

unless it's an RIA, Citadel, STI or auto ordnance 1911 I probably wouldn't trade for either. the SKS is a 300 dollar rifle, well worth the price and very reliable and fun to shoot, but unless your 1911 is only worth $300, I wouldn't suggest the trade, I'd sell it to another party and use the funds to buy the rifle and some ammo to go with it. I've seen one too many taurus revolvers lock up tighter than a crabs hind end to ever suggest getting one.

[gyvel]

unless it's an RIA, Citadel, STI or auto ordnance 1911 I probably wouldn't trade for either.

He said his 1911 is a Taurus.

[JUSTinTYME]

Yeah its a taurus. Problem with it is there are millions of entry level 1911s out there so prices on the used market are super cheap.

[T. O'Heir]

Ask yourself why a guy would trade a $600ish revolver for a $300 to $400 carbine. Taurus firearms aren't high end kit anyway, but unless the guy is really new, something ain't right.

[JUSTinTYME]

No one said anything about trading a carbine for a revolver?

[CLC]

Wow all kinds of derp in this thread.
Op has a 1911 made by taurus. Op can trade said 1911 for taurus revolver or Yugo sks.
Personally, I really like sks rifles and wouldn't consider the 44 revolver.

[4V50 Gary]

I would prefer the Yugo SKS myself. However, if a bear gun is needed for the woods (where a carbine is inappropriate), the Taurus 44 Mag it is.

[Model12Win]

Yugo sks's are junk. Like someone else said, they are the least desirable SKS for a reason. They typically have problems with the gas system, have no chrome lining, are ineffective beyond 150-200 meters, and have an extra pound of weight and 4" tacked to the end of the rifle (useless grenade launcher etc). They truly are the worst of the SK series rifles, and I wouldn't even trade a Taurus 1911 for one.

If it were a Russian or nice Chinese SKS, that would be different.

Get the .44 maggie.

[rightside]

I would have to disagree strongly with M12Win. The Yugo SKS is easily the best built SKS out there. The quality is second to none. People shy away from them because of the supposed problem of a non-chrome lined barrel. This is a non-existant problem if you use normal cleaning practices. Yes, they are heavier than most because of the grenade launcher on the end. This is a plus for me because a standard G.I. 22mm rifle grenade launcher can be used on this weapon. Also, standard NATO 22mm practice rockets can be launched.It's fun to launch tennis balls, etc; with it. The gas cut off only gets corroded if you have poor maintenance practices . It is most certainly not JUNK!

[Model12Win]

Well all I'm saying is form the Yugo guns I've seen (beat to heck, rusted gas system etc. etc.) they are NOT going to be worth more than something like a Taurus Raging Bull or Model 66 .44 magnum.

The Yugo SKS is a pig. It weighs about ten pounds, is longer than needed... it's like an M1 Garand but in an underpowered cartridge that drops like a rock after 250 yards and typically much worse accuracy, perhaps due to the poor sights on the SKS. Also reloading one with a stock magazine is not fun from what I've seen. The stripper clips work poorly, and are prone to shedding rounds. NOT good for a "combat" rifle. The SKS was designed as a stopgap/fallback to the MUCH superior AK series rifles, and it shows. It really was never a "perfected" system IMHO and is today totally obsolete for defensive much less combat purposes. Honestly I'd rather have something like a Mosin Nagant in that situation, at least those guns are highly reliable and shoot a flat-shooting cartridge and are typically accurate.

Sorry if some of us aren't smitten with them. I have my reasons and this is from over 10 years experience working with milsurp rifles. This is beside the point anyway, the OP was wanting to know what gun to trade for and my answer rests FIRMLY on the Taurus .44 over the SKS.

[Cheapshooter]

I have two Yugo 59/66 SKS rifles. Ordered one in "shooter" grade looking for a graffiti rifle. They sent me a very good to excellent, little used if at al almost new gun. Ordered a second, same thing. No Yugo dude's personalized carvings on it. Gave up. One was around $80, the other $120. I also have a Chinese standard length, and Chinese paratrooper length. Lastly, an Albanian SKS.
Both Yugo rifles have been as accurate, and reliable as the other three. Workmanship is very good, and I would say they are as good as any other manufacturer. As for the "useless" granade launcher, find a couple NATO practice dummy granades, and some blank rounds. Head out to an approiate place, and have a blast launching those little blue rockets.
As to the Taurus revolver, the only experience I have is with my Judge Public Defender Poly. Nice gun, fun to shoot, and not one bit of trouble. Taurus does have a reputation with some people of having less than steller QC, and customer service. From my personal experience with my PD Poly, those internet stories are not enough to keep me from having a Taurus 992 revolver on the top of my short list.
As far as the trade, you should know my opinion. If not, see below. But I thought I would give you some personal knowledge of the Yugo SKS. From someone who actually owns not one, but two. As well as a few others to compare.

[rightside]

M12Win,
I feel embarrassed and bad for you all at the same time. Displaying this level of ignorance on a subject, on a open forum ,while claiming to have a great deal of knowledge is just,well...sad.

[Daffy]

Wow I just learned that my Garand is a pig... Nah ain't selling it..

[Cheapshooter]

Well all I'm saying is form the Yugo guns I've seen

Also reloading one with a stock magazine is not fun from what I've seen.

It really was never a "perfected" system IMHO

and is today totally obsolete for defensive much less combat purposes

Maybe your IMHO would actually be a valid point if you actually owned an SKS, or two, or five!
Furthermore, does every gun someone owns have to be for "defensive, or combat purposes"?
The SKS is a fun, economical shooter. IMHOAAO (in my humble opinion as an actual owner) of course!
Your comments remind me of the Hi-point haters who constantly berate them without ever shooting one, let alone ever owning one.

[Model12Win]

Wow I just learned that my Garand is a pig... Nah ain't selling it..

No, the Yugo SKS is a pig. The M1 Garand is fine in it's weight and length due to the fact that it fires .30-06 Springfield, which is tremedously more powerful and effective than 7.62x39mm.

[rightside]

M12Win,
Just go get a Yugo and shoot it. And quite comparing it to a damn Garand! The OP asked about a 44 mag or an SKS, for God's sake.

[Cheapshooter]

Well all I'm saying is form the Yugo guns I've seen (beat to heck, rusted gas system etc. etc.) they are NOT going to be worth more than something like a Taurus Raging Bull or Model 66 .44 magnum.

Obviously he has not "seen" very many Yugo SKS rifles. A complete lack of knowledge about them shows he certainly has never owned one. Most Yugos I still see around are in very good to excellent condition. Function perfectly, and are as accurate as any SKS.
Maybe a little education could help this internet expert.

The SKS was designed as a stopgap/fallback to the MUCH superior AK series rifles,

Completely wrong, the SKS preceded the AK in both design, and service by five years

The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic carbine chambered for the 7.62×39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. Its complete designation, SKS-45, is an initialism for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 (Russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова, 1945; Self-loading Carbine of (the) Simonov system, 1945), or SKS 45. In the early 1950s, the Soviets took the SKS carbine out of front-line service and replaced it with the AK-47; however, the SKS remained in second-line service for decades.

it's like an M1 Garand but in an underpowered cartridge that drops like a rock after 250 yards

Again a completely bogus claim because the SKS was designed by intent to use a less powerful cartridge.

During World War II, many countries realized that existing rifles, such as the Mosin–Nagant, were too long and heavy and fired powerful cartridges that were effective in medium machine guns with a range in excess of 2,000 metres (2,200 yd), creating excessive recoil. These cartridges, such as the 8×57mm Mauser, .303 British, .30-06 Springfield, and 7.62×54mmR were effective in rifles to ranges of up to 1,000 metres (1,100 yards); however, it was noted that most firefights took place at maximum ranges of between 100 and 300 metres (110 and 330 yards). Only a highly trained specialist, such as a sniper, could employ the full-power rifle cartridge to its true potential. Both the Soviet Union and Germany realized this and designed new weapons for smaller, intermediate-power cartridges.

But as much as this information could be useful to the OP, the question was about which to trade for. Again, my suggestion is neither!

[tahunua001]

Obviously he has not "seen" very many Yugo SKS rifles. A complete lack of knowledge about them shows he certainly has never owned one. Most Yugos I still see around are in very good to excellent condition. Function perfectly, and are as accurate as any SKS.
Maybe a little education could help this internet expert.

I would have to agree with this. I have never seen a yugo SKS that was beat up that wasn't done intentionally(IE bubba'd)

The SKS was designed as a stopgap/fallback to the MUCH superior AK series rifles,

I suggest you double check your information, the SKS PREDATES the AK47, it was originally field tested against the Nazis, the AK47, as denoted by the 47, wasn't even tested until after WWII ended, no less accepted, the two were competing designs, the AK just made more sense as a front line combat rifle.

it's like an M1 Garand but in an underpowered cartridge that drops like a rock after 250 yards

actually, it was a perfection of a concept that was started with the SVT38 and subsequent SVT40 rifles. the two were semi automatic rifles with 10 round box mags(not 8 round enbloc clips). the russians liked taking concepts that worked and sticking with them. the SVTs were long, heavy, and fired heavily recoiling 7.62x54R. the russians took the idea and compressed it into a smaller, lighter recoiling, and shorter design. it is much the same concept as the train of thought that led the M1 garand to be redesigned into the M14 after being lightened, given a lighter cartridge and had the clip feed changed to a mag fed design.

not a perfect transition as the SKS and SVTs look nothing alike but it's definitely closer to say the sks was a lighter SVT40 with a lighter recoiling cartridge than an M1 garand with a underpowered cartridge.

Also reloading one with a stock magazine is not fun from what I've seen.

can you please elaborate on that? I know that you have a norinco, or more likely a type 56 chicom(hopefully you know the difference), the two are made to almost identical specs, especially the pre66 models.

It weighs about ten pounds

actually, in it's stock form it weighs less than 9, the M1 garand however weighs 10.

is longer than needed

and just how short is it needed to be? it's an 18 inch barrel and usually has a very short length of pull, not really anything unrealistic considering that the US didn't use anything with a barrel shorter than 20 inches until the M4 carbine.

and typically much worse accuracy, perhaps due to the poor sights on the SKS

this is an overgeneralization which serves to weaken your argument. I've seen M1 garands that can't group inside a paper plate at 100 yards and I personally own an SKS that will go toe to toe with my M1 garand any day of the week.

The stripper clips work poorly, and are prone to shedding rounds

I'm sorry I have to laugh at that one. I own dozens, perhaps hundreds of SKS strippers, none of them "shed rounds" any worse than any other stripper clip and even better than some enblocs. none of them work any more poorly than any other stripper from that era, considering the SKS is one of few semi designs that loads with stripper without the use of an adapter. at this point you are grasping at straws for anything that you can say to shed the SKS in a poor light.

today totally obsolete for defensive much less combat purposes

unless you are able to get a fully automatic rifle then there is nothing at all that makes it obsolete for self defense. I find it hilarious that you think the SKS is heavy, long, and obsolete with a magazine/stripper system that is prone to finicky behavior and then say you would rather use a mosin nagant which is all of those things but with a 31 inch barrel, 5 round mag, and has a funny tendency of acting like a flashbang in enclosed spaces or at night.

[JUSTinTYME]

Wow I haven't checked this thread in a while. I ended up with the 44 because I'd have more use for it. I read a lot of the replies. Thanks for all of your replies and opinions everyone

[Model12Win]

Wow I haven't checked this thread in a while. I ended up with the 44 because I'd have more use for it. I read a lot of the replies. Thanks for all of your replies and opinions everyone

You made the right choice, OP.

Sorry everyone but the Yugo SKS is just not a good rifle. I think the people defending it need to get out on the range with an M1A to experience what a REAL rifle should feel like. JMHO.

YMMV.

[Cheapshooter]

I think the people defending it need to get out on the range with an M1A to experience what a REAL rifle should feel like

LOL
I've spent plenty of time with an M1 Garand, FNFAL, Romanian PSL, AR15, AK47, and even a MAS 49/56. Also with the 4 varieties of the SKS that I own.
There is NO WAY, ABSOLUTELY NO WAY from my years, and I mean years of experience with these rifles that I actually own that I am going to agree that for their purpose the SKS is any less of a firearm!
In addition, where recreational shooting was not the intended purpose for the SKS, they do a very good job. Easy shooting for even young kids, economical to shoot, reasonably priced, and accuracy sufficent for fun shooting.
Maybe people who drive Fords, and Chevys should get out and drive a Lamborghini to experiance what a real car should feel like.

Congrats JustinTyme on your new gun. I think!. Violation of rule #1
You made your choice on what fit your needs the best.

[salvadore]

What is an entry level 1911?

[Cheapshooter]

What is an entry level 1911?

What's an "entry level" anything?
Base model, no frills, no enhancements at a lower price than models that have all, or most, of the bells and whistles.